Arch Enemy – interview met Daniel Erlandsson
Daniel Erlandsson: “It is amazing to look back and thirty years later we are still here. The most exciting part of that is that we are not actually slowing down. I think the band is still kind of going up, we are growing and this is good”
Zoals Daniel Erlandsson in het interview stelt: Arch Enemy is al dertig jaar bezig, maar aan kalmer aan doen wordt niet gedacht. Met de komst van een nieuw album (‘Blood Dynasty’) in zicht, waren ze al op tournee, dus was het geen sinecure om eens rustig te praten met iemand. Eerst ging bassist Sharlee D’Angelo een zoomgesprek doen, maar dat liep een paar keren mis. Uiteindelijk werd drummer Daniel Erlandsson bereid gevonden om de fakkel over te nemen en dus krijgen we hem aan de lijn om eens flink door te bomen over ‘Blood Dynasty’ en de band. Here we go…
Vera Matthijssens Ι 28 maart 2025
The previous Arch Enemy album ‘Deceivers’ was released in 2022, but that was still with guitarist Jeff Loomis. We all know that he left, so now you have a new guitar player. How did you find Joey Concepcion and how is he like?
We found Joey quite a while ago, because six or seven years ago we played some shows without Jeff. He had a break from the band for a couple of shows and Joey came in as a stand-in guitar player for those shows. So we rehearsed a little bit back then. We have known him before that also actually, because Joey has been playing with Christopher Amott in a band called Armageddon, so we were familiar with Joey already. And then when Jeff left, we were working on the songs for ‘Blood Dynasty’. We recorded most of the album and we had pretty much most of the songs ready and then Joey came in and played some amazing solos. He plays some acoustic guitars and he put his mark on the whole thing. So he came in and he did a great job and we have played some shows with him right now and it is working very well so far.
When and how did that writing process for ‘Blood Dynasty’ happen? Did you keep on touring in the meantime, or did you take a break to focus?
When we are on the road, I don’t think we produce a lot of new material. We come up with little ideas every now and then and we might record it on your iPhone, but we don’t really sit down with a computer and record demos on the road, so that is happening in between the tours. I think we started working on the songs pretty much immediately after ‘Deceivers’. We also had some ideas that were laying around before ‘Deceivers’ that we used on ‘Blood Dynasty’.
What were the first songs that took shape?
That’s a good question actually. I think – I don’t remember to be honest – but I think ‘Paper Tiger’ was one of the earlier songs and also some riffs that are in ‘Dream Stealer’ now, which was one of the first that we worked on.
I have seen on Metal Archives – I don’t know if that it is correct, so I check now – that you have always been involved in song-writing, but now they only give you credits for drumming. This time however you are not mentioned as song-writer. Are there any reasons for that?
Arch Enemy has always been a band in which Michael Amott writes most of the material. He is the main song-writer, but we have always been working pretty closely together on most of the albums, you know, especially since the time when Alissa joined the band. This time we put the songs together pretty much between the two of us and – I am talking mostly on the musical side – we put the music together first. I play a little guitar, so that helps when we sit down and write songs. It always starts with the music and then the lyrics come in on a later point and I think that is necessary for us, because the mood of the music usually defines the lyrics. You get a feeling from the song and that’s when the lyrics take shape.
Was there an over-coupling theme that came up when making this album?
I don’t think you can call this a concept album really, but also I think – the lyrics are written by Michael and Alissa – pretty much equal parts I think, and it is not a concept connecting with all of the songs. For me, the way I see it, but I am not a lyrical writer, is that every song has his own mood. It all fits together very nicely though.
It is a heavier album than the ones before, isn’t it?
That is good. We always try to be heavy (chuckles). But that is a good observation.
The song ‘Dream Stealer’ was released as first single. Can you tell a bit more about that song?
‘Dream Stealer’ stands out on the album to me because of its speed and intensity, probably one of the heavier songs and a little bit tricky to play as well. You have to be very focused, be ready for this speed. Once we had the whole album recorded and mixed, and mastered and everything was finished, we started talking about the first single, because that is usually a very difficult decision, but this time around I felt like – and I think we all agreed on – ‘Dream Stealer’ being the first single, because we usually want to come out with a song that grabs you by the throat. It has to be a song that’s really intense and catch people’s attention. So ‘Dream Stealer’ was perfect for that.
‘Liars And Thieves’ is the second single. Any particular reasons for that?
No, not really. When we had the album finished, we realized that there are a lot of songs that could be potential singles. We gathered the whole band in Europe last Summer actually and we recorded videos for a lot of songs. As you have seen we released quite a bunch of it already. Four so far and I think there might be another one coming out without saying too much. We just want to show the different sides of the album, because it is not like every song sounds like ‘Dream Stealer’, we want to be able to portrait the album in a true way and I think ‘Liars And Thieves’ is a kind of logical second single.
Talking about an exceptional flavour. We hear Alissa’s clean vocals in the second track ‘Illuminate The Path’…
That is correct. In the beginning, we did not think about clean vocals, but while we were in the studio, there was something that Alissa started thinking about and that whole arrangement is kind of part of her idea. It is something that happened in the studio spontaneously. Sometimes things like that happen and you get surprised. It really made that song something really interesting in my opinion.
Something different is also the cover version of ‘Vivre Libre’.
That song is actually a cover yes. We have some music nerds in the band and Michael is also a regular record collector. We were listening to this band called Blaspheme which is a French band and this album is from the eighties. The song ‘Vivre Libre’ really caught our attention, just being on the tour bus listening to music. Someone just had a vague idea of doing a cover of that song. Alissa comes from Montreal, so she is like French and English speaking already. So to sing in French was kind of natural for her. We had a demo of the song and I personally wasn’t sure that it would become so good, but it ended up as one of the strongest songs and it is also the first time that we include a cover within the album. It is not a bonus track, it is actually a part of the album and I think it adds a pretty cool touch to the album.
This year Arch Enemy has been around for thirty years and you were personally there more or less from the beginning. Which emotions prevail when thinking about thirty years Arch Enemy?
Well, the first thing that comes up is: ‘wow, we are getting old’. (chuckles) This is quite a long time, but I also feel proud that we have been able to keep going for this long. It is difficult to keep bands together. I got this question in another interview and it made me think about the time around the first album ‘Black Earth’. The band was very loosely put together if you know what I mean. There was not really a solid band at that point, it was more of an idea that Michael had in his head and over the years it became more and more with each album. It is amazing to look back and thirty years later we are still here. The most exciting part of that is that we are not actually slowing down. I think the band is still kind of going up, we are growing and this is good.
It surely is an achievement…
Yeah thank you.
Now there are two members of North America and Canada in the band… that demands a special way of working compared to the early days…
Yes it is a little bit different these days, because the band is very spread out in the world. In the early days we were all based in Sweden and we did everything in the rehearsal room. That is where Arch Enemy came into being, but now it is more spread out.
However you still have a kind of underground attitude and that should be reflected in the lyrics of the song ‘March Of The Miscreants’…
I think it is the type of music we play. It is metal. It needs to be kind of appealing to a minority if you put it that way, because we are not striving to be a mainstream band. If we want to do that, we have to change our sound. We have to, basically make it more streamlined, suit more people and I think part of the charm of this kind of music is the people that really do understand our music. They really connect with us on a deeper level, but on the other hand they are fewer. I think the song ‘March Of The Miscreants’ talks a little bit about this and connects to that subject. It is also part of the reason why we are still here after thirty years, we are still kind of doing the same thing in a way, even though we have broadened our sound and we became a little bit more accessible over the years, but we are still doing the same thing in many ways.
I think it is important to remain true to yourself, otherwise you lose control in a way…
And it is a very tricky balance. You don’t want to stagnate or repeat yourself too much. You have to let some new type of influences into your world basically.
What is a striking point that is different on the new album if you compare it with former albums?
I don’t really look at it this way, we are just continuing to get a little bit better and we are just continuing on the same path. I don’t want to compare it too much to the previous albums. It is just more of kind like a postcard of this current time that we are in right now. If we compare it to ‘Deceivers’ for example, it is like ‘Deceivers’ was about the time we were going through back then. Each album relates to a certain time and I feel like ‘Blood Dynasty’ is another strong album.
What are the plans for the near future with touring and playing gigs?
For 2025 we have two pretty big tours. We have one in the US and Canada in April/May and then we have another headline tour in Europe in the Fall. That’s going to be another big tour and recently we just toured with In Flames and Soilwork in Europe. I think this was the biggest tour we have ever done, it was huge. That is what we are going to do in 2025. Next year we will see, there are some more exciting plans coming up.
And in the pocket you have this new album, that’s nice…
Yes, but the funny thing is, once we have an album and it is getting ready to be released, by that time we have already been working on those songs for a couple of years and subconsciously or not subconsciously you already start to think about the future and new ideas for the next whatever album, you know (laughs). It doesn’t really ends.
Finally the artwork is done by Alex Reisfar…
He is the same artist who designed, or drew – painted I should say because it is an original painting – he painted ‘Will To Power’ and ‘Deceivers’ as well. So we have been working with him for at least three albums and I think he really did a great job on the new design. When you look at that cover, it really draws you into the story and the title ‘Blood Dynasty’ kind of suits with the theme and the cover. Obviously it looks extremely metal. It is a very metal sounding title and also a kind of a title that invites you to build a concept around that title.
You returned to Jens Bogren for the mix…
Yes. We have worked with him in the past. He mixed both ‘War Eternal’ and ‘Will To Power’ albums, but this time around we actually recorded in his studio in Orebrö in Sweden and we did everything there, which is kind of new to us. We tracked the drums with him and then we stayed there and tracked the guitars. We did everything in his studio and then he mixed the album as well. He kind of took a role as being a bit more involved in the material as well. From an early stage, he listened to the material and gave some ideas about how to shape the music. He is a very super professional engineer and very meticulous. He knows how to get the results that he wants.
